August 28, 2008
There are those who like the to say the wall has been torn down between television and film, that actors in this day and age are allowed to move freely between the mediums, and that television is no longer a back-up option. This is not true, and will continue not being true until people go out and start seeing movies starring television actors. Quick – name one current television actor with sustained and concurrent film and television success. I can think of one, and that person is Steve Carrell (though, it's not like Get Smart or Evan Almighty set the world on fire). Film stars end up on television when they stop being bankable film stars. For this new TV season, Christian Slater's starring role on My Own Worst Enemy is a prime example. Better yet, there's Kiefer Sutherland and 24.
August 13, 2008
You're out in the San Fernando Valley, dealing with the sweltering heat, and then you're in the Oval Office, face-to-face with the new president. It's a magical transition – walking from the real world into a fictional one. I've visited a few television sets over the last couple years, and this is the best part of it. The images on your TV screen suddenly grow a third dimension. Last Tuesday, the good people at FOX took a select group of journalists and local media affiliates on a set visit of 24, which is currently shooting the latter third of its upcoming seventh season. Fellow BuddyTV writer John Kubicek (pictured with Cherry Jones) and I had been flown down to Los Angeles to take part in a FOX press junket, where we had the chance to interview various cast members from FOX's Fall shows. It was a jam-packed weekend. Two days of interviews, a trip to the Teen Choice Awards, backstage at the taping of So You Think You Can Dance's final performance episode and, on the last day, this set visit of 24.
July 29, 2008
Mary Lynn Rajskub gave birth to a baby boy last Thursday. The child, Rajskub's first, was delivered two weeks after the baby's due date. The father, physical trainer Matthew Rolph, did not want to know the sex of the baby, so the couple kept it a surprise until birth. Rajskub has taken a short maternity leave from her role on 24, where she plays terse computer whiz Chloe O'Brian. While FOX has not been specific as to how they've dealt with Rajskub's absence during the current filming of season 7, it was reported earlier this month that Carlo Rota was being brought in to spell Chloe during her mysterious leave from the action of 24's seventh season. Rota plays Morris O'Brian, Chloe's ex-husband and possible father of Chloe's now-young child.
July 25, 2008
Check out the rest of our coverage from San Diego Comic-Con.
Kiefer Sutherland and 24 have endured a rough year and a half. The writers' strike murdered their seventh season, and forced them to delay the season for a year. In the interim, Kiefer had to serve over a month in prison, stemming from a DUI charge. The future of 24 was in some doubt, but if today's Comic-Con panel is any indication, things are back on the right track. 24: Exile, the two-hour prequel movie to season 7, will be airing in November, with season 7 bowing in January. Kiefer Sutherland was joined by Carlos Bernard and the entire creative/production staff as they showed footage from Exile, and discussed the new season and anything else fans wanted to discuss.
July 22, 2008
The biggest pop culture event of the year is almost here: the San Diego Comic-Con. In 2007, over 125,000 people attended the convention, which covers everything from film to television to comic books. That number is expected to be matched this year, as each day of the event is completely sold out. BuddyTV will be reporting directly from Comic-Con beginning this Thursday, and we'll continue updating with all the latest news until the convention comes to an end on Sunday. We'll also have additional stories about the Comic-Con experience in the following weeks, so keep checking BuddyTV for updates.
To prepare for our big trip to San Diego, we compiled a list of the five panels we're most looking forward to. Read on to see what we're truly excited about.
July 17, 2008
It looks like 24's big surprise for Comic-Con has been let out of the bag. A trailer for the 24 prequel movie, which will air this November, leaked onto the internet yesterday. The film is, apparently, titled 24: Exile, and the two-minute trailer features Jack Bauer being Jack Bauer, but in Africa. That's all I'll acknowledge in this perfunctory opening paragraph because, as you'll notice below, there is a spoiler warning for this article. The trailer, I guess, divulges some key plot points for the two-hour prequel film, though they're not major. We will not be embedding any sort of video, because FOX is trying to keep this under wraps. Remember, the trailer was not released, it was leaked.
EXTRA SPECIAL JACK BAUER SPOILER WARNING!!!
July 9, 2008
Actresses are people too, and sometimes they get pregnant. Such is a fact of life. Actress pregnancies can come at inopportune time for episodic television series. It's not like you can tell an actress she can't get pregnant, even if she's under contract. TV has a long history of either writing a pregnancy into their story, or hiding the belly-in-question via practical camera tricks. Just this last year, Angela Kinsey on The Office filmed much of the season with a bun in the oven, though it was near impossible to notice. The latest TV pregnancy to rear its magical life-giving head is one owned by Mary Lynn Rajskub, who plays Chloe O'Brian on 24. 24, now filming its seventh season, is going to have to deal with Rajskub's impending motherhood. She's going to give birth any day now, and Rajskub is going to have to take a few episodes off. Her departure will be written into the season, but Jack Bauer will need a Chloe replacement. Who will it be?
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW!! OR MAJOR, DEPENDING ON YOUR PREROGATIVE!!
July 4, 2008
Hello, America.
My name is Jack Bauer. You may not know who I am, so let me fill you in. I used to work for the Los Angeles division of the U.S .Government's Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU). I have killed literally hundreds of unnamed terrorists and henchmen and even some innocent civilians, all in the name of this country. I don't mean to brag, but I am a patriot. Obviously, the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday (close second: Arbor Day). Every time the Fourth comes along, I think of all the terrorists whose necks I've bitten off, whose groins I've electroshocked, all of the government officials I've kidnapped, and the foreign embassies I've infiltrated. All in the name of patriotism, of course.
Given my past as a government killing machine, I feel that I'm uniquely qualified to offer some advice for the common man as we approach this sacred holiday: